# 21 III-6.2000 III-7.5115 III-7.

6000 July 8, 1992 DJ 202-PL-155

Mr. Gregory W. Silliman Senior Project Engineer Code Consultants Incorporated Fire Protection Consultants 760 Office Parkway St. Louis, MO 63141 Dear Mr. Silliman: This letter responds to your correspondence regarding the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to a newly constructed parking structure connected to an existing mall building. The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide technical assistance to individuals and entities with rights or obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA accessibility standards. However, this technical assistance does not constitute a legal interpretation of the statute and it is not binding on the Department. Your letter states that an accessible entry to each level of the mall will be provided from each level of the parking garage and that the mall building contains accessible elevator service. You ask if, in lieu of providing an elevator in the parking structure, this provides an adequate degree of accessibility with respect to ADA requirements. The parking structure could be regarded as an addition (see ADA Guidelines 4.1.5) to the existing mall; as such, the design

would have to in compliance with the applicable provisions of ​4.1.1 through 4.35, the requirements for new construction. Where the parking structure connects to the existing mall, that portion would be considered an alteration to an area of primary function and would trigger the path of travel requirements of ​4.1.6(2). As to the alteration requirements, your affirmative answer from the DOJ ADA hotline was well-reasoned with respect to the path of travel. However, this would be considered correct only if the parking structure is used exclusively for access to the mall building. If the parking structure could be used independently of the mall (e.g., as parking for another building or as parking when the mall building was not open for business) when direct access to the street would be necessary, we believe that the parking structure would be considered a separate new facility subject to the new construction requirements. In that situation, the Guidelines 4.1.3(5) would require an elevator serving each level of the parking structure. Also, because the ADA does not affect the application or enforcement of state or local building regulations, if your local building code requires an elevator within the structure, that requirement would have to be satisfied irrespective of ADA requirements. To assist you in complying with the ADA, attached are the final Title III regulations and a Technical Assistance Manual. We hope this information is useful to you. Sincerely,